For those of us who attended the IPMS Nationals in 2017, we were able to see the 1/48 scale M1A2 that Tamiya would soon be releasing. I built the original 1/35 Tamiya offering in the 1980’s as the tank was just entering service, and I knew that I would need this new release in a smaller scale. The folks at Hauler have released a photoetch set to improve detail on some items and add more/missing details in other areas. I would highly recommend this set to modelers building this Abrams tank, but also recommend that you have experience with some rather small detail parts.

AFV Club has released the third version of Israeli’s rework of the venerable American M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH). This time around we meet the ‘Doher’, or ‘Galloper’ - an augmented boxing of their recent ‘Rochev Bet’ release. The M109A2 Doher was fielded in 1993, eventually replacing all of the earlier Rochev models in active service by 1997. After the active service units received their share, the IDF began to replace some of the reserve units' vehicles. Today one can find in the reserve units both the Doher & Rochev models.

Master Model is a Polish company. The owner is Piotr Czerkasow who is a mechanical engineer by trade. Piotr is also a scale modeler. Master model has a broad range of accessories for aircraft, military vehicles, and ships in several of the popular scales. In addition, they also offer a blackening agent until their Tools and Supplies tab.

Background

The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil ("Arrow") was a World War II heavy fighter built by the Dornier company. The two-seater trainer version was called Ameisenbär ("anteater"). The Pfeil's performance was much better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines. It was Germany's fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful was delivered before the war ended.

A recent addition to the IPMS Review Corps suppliers is Mikro-Mir, whose kits remind me of what I am used to seeing with limited production manufacturers. This is not a negative comment, but more of a heads up that some building experience is required to end up with a nice finished model at the end of construction. The overall assembly of this kit was relatively easy with 23 plastic parts and 11 photoetched parts included. Modelers with some experience will enjoy this kit, which represents a one-off design that was the fastest submarine produced to date.

Airfix has released a new-mold Ju-87B-2/R-2. Typical the recent releases of Airfix, you get state-of-the-art surface detail and fit, together with superb engineering that makes the construction of this model a very enjoyable experience.

Like with most airplane models, construction starts with the cockpit. Being a two-seater, there is plenty of detail on it, including a radio, pilot and gunner seat, sidewall detail, extra ammo for the gunner, etc. Take your time and do some detailed painting, it will pay off later. Note that the instrument panel is provided as a decal (which looks very good) and no seatbelts are provided. I scratch-built the seatbelts being depicted in this model.

Also note that there are a few ejection pin marks in the cockpit floor area, near the gunner seat that could be visible. I choose to fill them out. Also, there are a few ejector pins on the fuselage inner sides, but are not visible, as the sidewall detail will cover them.